GreenhouseGases
The price of CO
2
per tonne has been relatively low (i.e.
approximatelyUS$10)acrossallmarkets,withtheexception
€
of the European market where the price skyrocketed to over
30/tonne at the beginning of 2006. News of possible CO
2
market shortages lower than expected due to the National
Allocation Plans, combined with news of a possible future
large contribution of allowances from the Kyoto Protocol
Mechanisms (CDM & JI) have since destabilised price
structures.
The framework is still evolving and the establishment of
ruleswillcertainlycontributetotheaveragepriceequilibrium
duringtheKyotoperiodandbeyond.Inthelong-term,theCO
2
price is likely to be largely governed by the cost of carbon
captureandstoragetechnology.
Linkingtheexistingregionalschemesintoaglobalscheme
woulddefineaglobalvalueofCO
2
.Consequentlythiswould
first help to reduce GHG emissions in a more economic way,
since the least expensive abatement methods globally would
beused.Secondly,theglobalvalueforGHGemissionswould
alsohelptriggertheneededtechnologytransfer.
Conclusions
GHGemissionswillcontinuetoriseworldwide,althoughthe
EU-27 seems to be well on the way to reducing its emissions.
The major contributor to GHG emissions is fossil fuel
combustion,particularlyintheprocessofproducingelectricity.
Technological solutions are available, but the deployment of
thesewilltaketimebeforetheywillsignificantlyreduceGHG
emissions.Duetothecurrenteconomicsituationhowever,the
financingofmuchneededinvestmentisanissueofincreasing
urgency. The European share of GHG emissions is constantly
diminishing.BesidesbeingpartofthesolutionintermsofGHG
reduction,Europewillbepartofthesolutionlargelyintermsof
cleantechnologydevelopment.Aneffectivesolutiontoclimate
changeneedstobeaglobalone.Europecanleadthewayby
example, but other important regions should establish their
roadmaps.AglobalvalueforGHGemissionswouldhelpcreate
incentives for low carbon technologies and for the necessary
technologytransfer.
•
Dr Stefan Ulreich,E.ONEnergyTradingAG,is
WorldEnergyCouncilStudyChair.
www.eon-energie.com
Footnote
1.JamesE.Rogers,CEOofDukeEnergy,speaksinthiscontextabout
‘cathedral thinking’: The cathedrals of Europe took many decades to
build,andthepeoplestartingtheworkweresurethattheywouldnever
seethefinalresult.
118 worldPower2009
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